Why is the caribbean called the west indies

} The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. These islands curve southward from the bottom tip of Florida to the Northwest of. ). Eastern Cuba, Northern Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are derived from materials of the Caribbean plate consisting of a Jurassic oceanic. 23 The Caribbean islands, consisting of the Greater Antilles on the north and the Lesser Antilles on Remember the West Indies Federation?|#|

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The southern group of the Lesser Antilles is known as the Windward Islands, which are located at the foot of the Caribbean Sea. These islands are generally mountainous and volcanic in origin. Some of the Windward Islands, such as Martinique , still have active volcanoes. The island of St. Lucia even has a volcano that you can drive through. The island of Trinidad is the largest and southernmost island of the Windward Islands and the Lesser Antilles in general.

At its nearest point, it is just 11 km from the coast of the South American country of Venezuela. Archeological evidence suggests that the West Indies were settled, at least partially, as long ago as BCE, with Cuba, Hispaniola and Trinidad bearing signs of having been inhabited as long ago as BCE. While doing so, they enslaved much of the Indigenous population. Eventually, the Indigenous people of the West Indies were driven to the brink of extinction , not just by slavery and other acts of genocide perpetrated by the Spaniards, but also by diseases brought to the islands from Europe for which they had no immunity.

To supplement indigenous slave labor, the Spaniards imported slaves from Africa, whose descendants would later comprise much of the population of the West Indies. By the end of the 16th century, other European powers began exploring and settling the West Indies. Several wars were also fought in the region and resulted in ownership of territory changing hands on several occasions.

During the colonial period, piracy became widespread throughout the West Indies, especially in the period between and The decolonization of the West Indies began in the early 19th century. Haiti was the first country in the West Indies to become independent in with the Haitian Revolution , followed by the Dominican Republic in Other European colonies in the region gained their independence in the 19th and 20th centuries, though even today, several islands in the West Indies are still European possessions.

The islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe , for example, are still controlled by France. Today, nearly 44 million people call the West Indies home. Not too far behind is Cuba , which has a population of approximately The Dominican Republic , which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, is the third most populous, with a total of more than Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and the country of Trinidad and Tobago have populations of approximately 2.

The people of the West Indies are multiracial, multicultural, and multilingual. Generally, the predominant language of each country or territory in the region is the one spoken by the current or former colonial power.

For example, English is spoken in the former British colony of the Bahamas and the current British colony of Montserrat, while French or French Creole is spoken in formerly French-controlled Haiti and the currently French-controlled islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Hispanola is just one of the many islands in the West Indies, and the Dominican Republic and Haiti are only two countries out of many. Hispanola is part of a more extensive collection of islands within the West Indies, known as the Greater Antilles.

Cuba and Jamaica are both countries — they have their own flags, governments, economies, cultures, et cetera. Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States , so it is not a country. Beach-loving tourists love visiting the country of Jamaica and the territory of Puerto Rico, along with the Dominican Republic and Haiti, because these islands are famous for their beautiful beaches and blue waters.

Fewer people visit Cuba, as it is a communist country and is therefore much more restrictive.